An emissions inventory provides information on the amount of key air pollutants that are released into the atmosphere for a given location over a given time period. This enables us to identify sources of pollutants. By understanding the amounts that different sources contribute, air quality can be better managed and modelled.
We evaluated emissions for five key pollutants for 2015, the most-recent year that data were readily available: particulate matter (PM) less than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10), PM less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulphur dioxide (SO2), because they are the most important pollutants in New Zealand.
The grouped sources include: energy-related activities, construction dust, road dust, industrial process emissions (non-combustion), agriculture (emissions from animal housing), vegetation fires (burning agricultural residue and biomass burning), and incinerating of hazardous waste.
Only human-generated emissions were included in this emission inventory. No updated data for residential wood burning were available and was assumed to be the same as the 2013 national inventory.